Daryl Murphy must already have won over any doubters he might have had at Nottingham Forest, by firing himself to the top of the Championship scoring charts.

That was the message from Mark Warburton, who has been impressed by the impact the Irish international has made on and off the pitch.

Murphy has scored six goals in nine starts and one Championship sub appearance following his £2m switch from Newcastle United, putting himself level with Hull City's Jarrod Bowen and Bobby Reid of Bristol City.

A few eyebrows were raised when Forest signed the 34-year-old as a replacement for £15m man Britt Assombalonga - who has five Championship goals so far - following his move to Middlesbrough.

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But Murphy has provided an emphatic answer to any such questions with his performances – which have provided a bright spark amid a frustrating spell for Warburton’s side, as they find themselves in the midst of a run of five defeats in six Championship outings.

“Daryl is a goalscorer, isn’t he? You sell a striker and a big striker at that, and then bring somebody in – the fans are quite right to question him,” said Warburton. “But they have seen what he can do now.

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“He was in the right place at the right time, which is a positive – but as I said at the start, I do not want to be seen in the newspaper to be standing here saying that we are feeling positive about a 3-1 defeat, because we are not at all.

“There were good performances from numerous individuals against Fulham. But, without repeating myself too much, it is about getting the rewards for that.”